Casual Election Staff Vacancies

Casual Election Staff Vacancies

The Returning Officer for Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council is seeking applications of interest from members of the public who wish to be part of a pool of casual election staff and considered for casual election related work within the Borough on and around Polling Day.

At every election the Returning Officer relies on dedicated additional staff to support the democratic process. The vital roles played by these staff ensure the smooth running on the elections. Polling station staff ensure that voters are able to cast their vote in secret, free from influence and in a calm atmosphere whilst Count Assistants ensure the votes are counted in an accurate and efficient manner to ensure the result of the election is confirmed in a timely and responsive manner.

Roles and duties:

Roles include; working in one of the numerous Polling Stations across the Borough as a Presiding Officer or Poll Clerk or working as a Count Assistant; sorting, verifying and counting the votes cast after the election.

Presiding Officers – Working on Election Day 6.00am - 11pm, plus one training session beforehand. Presiding Officers are experienced polling station staff with a comprehensive knowledge of the voting process and electoral law. They must be able to manage a small team of poll clerks, ensure equal access is provided to all voters, liaise appropriately with tellers, party agents and polling station inspectors and maintain the secrecy of the ballot.

Poll Clerks – Working on Election Day 6.15am – 10.30pm, plus one training session beforehand Poll Clerks work under the direction of the Presiding Officer. They assist with keeping the polling station clean and tidy, answer elector's questions and hand out ballot papers.

Count Assistant – Working overnight after the ballot closes or during the day after the election. Once voting is over, ballot papers are taken to the count venue, where they are checked, sorted and counted, by hand. Some counts start at 10pm in the evening, others during weekdays or weekends. Count staff must be able to quickly sort and count ballot papers working under the direction of a Count Supervisor.

To see a full list of duties and further details please read the relevant role description available in the download section below.

Fees/Payment

The fees paid to election staff are very competitive and are as follows:

Job title / Fee

Poll Clerk

£250 includes travel and training

Presiding Officer

£400 includes travel, training and mobile phone allowance

Counting Assistant

£11.44 per hour plus a small travel fee

*The above fees were paid to Election Staff in 2024, the actual fees for future elections are subject to change.

Being accepted onto the Returning Officer's database does not guarantee that you will be offered a post, but you may be contacted about election specific roles as and when they arise.

If you are a good communicator, methodical and quick to learn, then apply to join the pool of Casual Elections Staff. 

If you have any queries about the roles please contact Daune Ashdown, Head of Electoral Services, Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council directly on 01732 876229.

To apply please email voting@tmbc.gov.uk for an application form (applications will be reviewed on a regular basis)

Please note:

• Casual Election roles are employed directly by the Returning Officer and NOT Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. Therefore the Council's employee terms and conditions do not apply, nor is there access to the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Election roles are paid on a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) basis, which means that tax will be deducted at 20% from earnings. If you are not a tax payer you will be responsible for claiming the tax back from HMRC
• Any work that you do may affect any state pension or benefit that you receive. You will be responsible for telling your pension or benefit provider about your earnings
• Any work that you do may affect how much tax that you are required to pay. You will be responsible for telling HMRC about your earnings